This invention relates to devices adapted to provide assistance to persons who are unable to don hosiery without help. More specifically, it relates to a hosiery donning aid apparatus having improved engagement with the hosiery item.
It is well known that people with various physical conditions have great difficulty dressing themselves. This often creates obstacles for them to live independently. Many people who suffer from back, hip or knee disorders find it difficult, if not impossible, to put on hosiery without assistance. To put on or don a foot covering such as a sock or stocking is frequently difficult due to the various combinations of leg and arm limitations that affect this activity. Examples of limited physical conditions include diminished range of motion in the back or knee, or leg strength, such that the foot cannot easily be brought into reach. Another example is limited hand strength or limited range of motion in the fingers of both hands. Such conditions make it difficult to widen the opening of the foot covering while simultaneously inserting the toes and heel of one foot into the opening. The difficulty may be pronounced for foot coverings such as a support stocking intended to fit snuggly on the foot.
Several kinds of devices have been proposed by the prior art and which are designed to alleviate the above discussed problems. These devices are adapted to provide assistance of such nature that a person who is unable to don hosiery without help need not require the services of another person.
Some of such devices are more effective than others, but many of them have certain drawbacks such as maintaining an article of hosiery on the device in certain position during and following insertion of a person's foot into such article. These problems encountered with previously known devices relates to the difficulty of immobilizing the device during application of the hosiery to the person's foot and leg.
It is also well known that physical disability makes it difficult to properly coordinate positioning of the foot within the hosiery item in such a manner that the toes and heel of a foot are properly situated within the respective portions of a stocking. One of the major functions of the prior art devices is to assist in this important task. However, after insertion of the available donning aid into the interior of the stocking it is quite difficult to coordinate and retain the required position of the aid within the interior of the stocking. In order to achieve this important task, a proper engagement has to be assured between the stocking aid and the interior of the hosiery items. The known devices for accomplishing these functions are often complex, expensive, and require a significant amount of hand strength for accomplishing this task.
Thus, there has been a long-felt unsolved need to provide a hosiery donning aid capable of retaining its position after being inserted within the interior of the stocking. There has also been a need for such devices which are simple, effective, easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.